Portable electric lamp guard provided with a pivoted door



H. E. MOIN EAU Dec. 25, 1951 PORTABLE ELECTRIC LAMP GUARD PROVIDED WITHA PIVOTED DOOR Filed March 9, 1949 U R m m W H W m 7& P

l HY EiIF 4 Patented Dec. 25, 1951 UNITED STATS FFICE PORTABLE ELECTRICLAMP GUARD PROVIDED WITH A PIVOTED DOOR Application March 9, 1949,Serial No. 80,365

This invention relates to lamp guards for trouble lights, such as areused by mechanics and craftsmen. These trouble lights have an extensioncord, with an insulating handle equipped with a lamp socket for anincandescent lamp bulb and may be moved from place to place toilluminate the work to be performed. To protect the bulbs of these lampsfrom breakage by engagement with extraneous objects, a wire cage looselyembracing and enclosing the lamp is mounted on the handle by means of atwo part clamp to which the wires of the cage are welded. It is commonto permanently affix to the exterior of one side of the wire cage anopaque shield which protects the eyes of the workman from direct glareof the lamp and also serves the purpose of a reflector.

With these constructions it is necessary, when a change of the bulb isrequired, to entirely remove the clamp from the handle by unscrewing theclamp screws which hold it in place thereon. After the clamp is releasedfrom the handle, it, together with the cage affixed thereto, must beentirely removed in order that access may be had to the bulb. After theold or broken bulb has been removed and replaced by a new one. the cageis replaced by reversing the operations stated. The breakage of bulbs inlampsof this character is a frequent occurrence and it is a nuisance tohave to entirely remove the cage and its clamp from the handle in orderto change the bulb.

The object of the present invention is to provide a novel and economicalcage construction whereby the bulb may be changed in a simple andexpeditious manner and without the necessity of removing the cage fromthe handle or releasing the clamp.

I accomplish this result by mounting a wire cage upon the handle,preferably by the use of a clamp as heretofore, but the wire cage is soconstituted that a door may be opened in its side to permit the removalor replacement of a 2 Claims. (Cl. 240-64) bulb without removing thecage from the handle.

2 vantages of the widely used conventional trouble light of priorpractice.

Features of the invention, other than those adverted to, will beapparent from the herein after detailed description and appended claimswhen read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing. I

The accompanying drawing illustrates one practical embodiment of theinvention, but the construction therein shown is to be understood asillustrative only, and not as defining the limits of the invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a trouble light embodying thisinvention, with the door detached to provide in the side of the cage theopening through which the bulb may be introduced into or removed fromthe socket of the handle.

Figure 2 is a vertical transverse section through the cage and shield.This view shows the door closed and locked in full lines, while thedotted line position illustrates the door released and partly removedfrom the cage.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the cage with the door removed.

In the drawings, l designates a handle, provided at its upper end with alamp socket (not shown) adapted to receive an electric lamp bulb 2. Anappropriate electrical cable passes into the lower end of the handle andis connected to the socket in the conventional way. The handle ispreferably made of rubber or other insulating material in accordancewith usual practice.

The upper end portion of the handle is embraced by a clamp 3' consistingof two semicylindrical sections secured to one another by bolts 4 whichmount the clamp sections firmly on the handle. A wire cage is supportedon the clamp 3. This cage comprises a series of upright, longitudinalwires 5, secured intermediate their ends to a horizontal spacing andreinforcing ring 5 by welding or otherwise. The lower ends of the wires5 are welded to the clamp sections 3'. while their upper" ends aresimilarly secured to a wire ring 8 by welding or otherwise.

Fora little more than half way around the cage in a horizontaldirection, the upright wires 5 are spaced relatively close together, sothat the bulb 2 may be adequately protected against damage by contact.with extraneous objects. However, for the remainder of the distancearound the cage, the longitudinal wires are omitted to provide the cagewith a lateral door opening sufliciently wide to permit the bulb 2 to bepassed therethrough into or out of the cage. This opening is adapted tobe normally closed by a door 9. I may, if desired, make this door in theform of a wire frame, but I prefer to use a shield, similar to theconventional shield, for this purpose. In accordance with thisinvention, however, the shield is of a size and shape to close the dooropening of the cage and is preferably pivotably secured at its top tothe cage. This pivotal connection may permanently attach the shield tothe frame. However, I prefer to provide it in its upper portion with aperforation l adapted to be detachably engaged with a hook H formed on aplate l2 welded across the upper surface of the ring 8. At that portionof the shield, contiguous to the reinforcing ring 6, the

shield is provided with an external bead forming an interior channel I3adapted to register with and seat against that portion of the ring 6which extends across the door opening. Near its lower edge, said shieldis provided with an internal bead forming an external channel l4 andeach of the longitudinal wires 5 of the cage are provided at acorresponding elevation with depressions or offsets 15 in the samehorizontal plane as the external channel 14 of the shield.

In Figure 1, the shield, i. e., the door, is shown as separated from thecage. When the parts are in this condition, the bulb 2 may be readilypassed into removed from the cage through the side opening beneath thering 6. Under normal conditions, however, the parts are assembled asshown in Figure 2. To accomplish this, the shield is brought intoposition to pivotably engage the perforation Ill of the shield with thehook II. This may be readily accomplished by bringing the shield intothe dotted line position shown in Figure 2. The shield is then pivotablyswung inwardly into the full line position of Figure 2 to cause theinternal channel l3 of the shield to seat against the underlying portionof the reinforcing ring 6. A retainer, in the form of a ring 16, is thenmoved upwardly over the handle and into engagement with the externalchannel M of the shield and the depressions l5 of the wires 5, whichcollectively form a seat for said ring. The wires 5 are slightlyresilient and the retainer 16 is made of such size that it is adapted tobe sprung into engagement with said seat to place the upright wires 5under a suflicient stress to effectually hold the ring from beinginadvertently dislodged.

When the parts are fully assembled, they appear as shown in Figure 2,wherein the shield is resiliently held in place upon the cage, with thelamp bulb safely housed within the resulting structure. Whenever it isnecessary to change the bulb this may be readily accomplished by merelyspringing the retaining ring Hi from its seat so that it may fall overthe handle into the position of Figure 1 and thereby release the shieldfor ready removal.

In the accompanying drawing, the wires 5 are attachedto the-handle bymeans of a two part clamp. If desired, the lower ends of these wires 5may be secured permanently to the handle, as by molding them into thehandle or otherwise fixedly attaching them thereto, without departingfrom this invention. It is preferred that the usual hook H be fixed tothe plate l2, so that a trouble light may be hung from a suitablesupport.

The foregoing detailed description sets forth the invention in itspreferred practical form,

but the invention is to be understood as fully commensurate with theappended claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A trouble light comprising: a handle having a socket to receive anelectric lamp bulb, a wire cage mounted upon the handle and embodyingWires extending longitudinally of the axis of the bulb and also areinforcing ring extending crossaxially around and secured to theseveral longitudinally extending wires to space them apart and reinforcethem, the majority of said longitudinally extending wires beingannularly spaced apart a distance appreciably less than the diameter ofthe bulb but there being a door space left between two adjacentlongitudinally extending wires sufficiently great to permit the passageof the lamp bulb therethrough, and a door for normally closing said doorspace, said door embodying an interioriy concave shield with a pivotalconnection to the end of the wire cage remote from the handle and anexternal channel near its end aznacent the handle, and a retaining ringcross-axially embracing both the Wire cage and the shield and detachablyengaged with said channel and with the longitudinally extending Wires ofthe cage to normally hold the shield in closed position.

2. A trouble light comprising: a handle having a socket to receive anelectric lamp bulb, a wire cage mounted upon the handle and embodyingwires extending longitudinally of the axis of the bulb and also areinforcing ring extending crossaxially around and secured to theseveral longitudinally extending wires to space them apart and reinforcethem, the majority of said longitudinally extending wires beingannularly spaced apart a distance appreciably less than the diam eter ofthe bulb but there being a door space left between two adjacentlongitudinally extending wires sufficiently great to permit the passageof the lamp bulb therethrough, and a door for normally closing said doorspace, said door embodying an interiorly concave shield, with a pivotalconnection to the end of the wire cage remote from the handle andprovided with an arcuate internal channel seating over that portion ofthe reinforcing ring which extends across the door space and also havingan external channel near its end adjacent the handle, and a HECTOR E.MOINEAU.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 972,480 Southwick Oct. 11, 19101,315,494 Heinrich Sept. 9, 1919 1,634,439 Urbahns July 5, 19271,735,295 Olley Nov. 12, 1929 2,178,907 Hockley Nov. 7, 1939 2,448,582Fike Sept. 7, 1948

